Handhole



Sept. 23, 1 924. 1,509,486

J. PRlMRosE HANDHOLE Filed Jan. 29. 1923 11v VENTOR Jomv I 7 2014205:

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN PRIMROSE, OF NEW YORK. N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO POWER SPECIALTY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

HANDI-IOLE.

Application filed January 29, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Pnnunosn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of borough of Richmond, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Pertaining to Handholes, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates primarily to fluid handling apparatus comprising a header or other hollow element formed with hand hole openings; and the invention was primarily devised, and is especially adapted for use in apparatus such as boilers, oil heaters, superheaters and the like holding hot-fluids under considerable pressure.

The general object of the invention is to facilitate the use of internal hand hole closing devices which are too large to pass through the hand hole openings normally closed by the devices, and which are moved away from their seats into the interior of the hollow element to which they pertain, when access to said interior through the 25 hand hole openings is desired. The invention is characterized by, and in one of its aspects, consists of the formation of the header or other hollow element of metal cast about a core of sand or the like in which the previously formed hand hole closing devices are imbedded. When the casting operation is completed, and the sand or analogous core material is removed from the hollow element, and-the latter has been subjected to the necessary machining or other finishing treatment, the hollow element may be put into use with its hand hole openings closed by the closing devices about which the element was cast.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and of its advantages, and specific objects attained with its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a tube connect- Serial No. 615,637.

ing header with hand hole cleaning devices in place;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the core used in forming the header shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4.-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a view taken similarly to Fig. 2 illustrating a feature of construction which may be employed when replacement of closing devices becomes necessary.

In the drawings, and referring first to the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, A represents a return header for connecting two parallel tubes B, B. As shown the header A is in the form of a box-like casting having in its rear wall two tube openings A in which the tubes B may be secured in any usual or suitable manner. Advantageously as shown each tube B is secured in the corresponding opening by expanding it in its seat, with the inner end of the tube projecting into the header a short distance and ex panded to form a bell end portion B as shown;

In the front wall of the header A, there are twohand hole openings A one in register with each of the tube openings A. Each opening- A is preferably circular in form and is normally closed by a corresponding closing device C also preferably circular in outline and too large in diameter to pass through any openings A or A Advantageously the closing devices C are identical inshape and each in the form of a conical plug adapted to seat in either of the openings A, which are made conical for that purpose, withthesmaller end of each plug and opening outermost, but the closing devices employed may be provided with seat engaging portions adapted to engage annular seats surrounding the hand hole openings at their inner margins.

In making the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I form the hollow element A of metal, usually iron, which I cast about a core D in which I imbed the previously formed closing devices G. The core D will ordinarily be either a green sand core or a dry sand core, and in any event should be made of material which can be readily broken up and removed from the interior of the casting when the latter has solidified. As shown in Figs. 3 and 1-, the core I) is pro vided with prints D and D which also form the tube and hand hole openings A and A WVhere, as in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the width of the cavity in the hollow element is but little greater than the maximum diameter of ya closing device C, the latter may well be set askew in the core as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. After the hollow element is cast, it is ordinarily necessary to anneal the casting, and then to bore, ream out, or otherwise machine the openings A and A The closing devices C will not be injuriously affected by this annealing operation, as in general these devices are made of cast iron or steel which are affected beneficially, rather than otherwise, by passing through the annealing operation to which the cast hollow element is subjected. Suitable provisions may readily be made, when necessary, to wedge or hold the closing devices out of the way of the reaming or other tools employed in machining the openings A and A The invention provides a very simple and relatively inexpensive mode of providing a hollow element and hand hole closing devices, with the portions of the hand hole openings and the closing devices which have to be machined and cleaned of circular outline, and hence most easily machined and cleaned, and in which the closmg devices are held in their seats by the mternal pressure to which they are subjected, so that in 2 hole closing devices of the character illustrated herein which cannot readily be removed from the hollow element in which they are employed, and have also disclosed various eXpedients which may be employed to position and support the closing devices during tube cleaning and renewing operations.

It will be obvious, of course, that the invention disclosed herein is well adapted for use with hollow elements very different in character from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. For example, it is well adapted for use in the construction of the sinuous vertical headers formed of cast steel employed in certain well known forms of water tube boilers, and each having connected to it, a considerable number of the boiler water tubes.

If, for any reason, it becomes necessary or desirable to replace one or more of the hand hole closing devices in a hollow element constructed in accordance with the present invention, this may be accomplished by reaming out one of the hand hole openings A to a diameter large enough to permit the passage of the hand hole closing devices. When the displacement operation is completed, a bushing E may be inserted in the enlarged opening, and secured therein in any suitable manner, preferably by expending it into place as shown in Fig. 5. The passageway through the bushing E when expanded or otherwise secured in place, should be shaped and proportioned to provide the same sort of a seat for a hand hole closing device as is formed by the wall of the original hand hole opening A.

The arrangement illustrated in Fig. 5, in which a bushing is mounted in an opening large enough to permit the passage of a hand hole closing device, with the passageway of the bushing too small to permit the passage of the bushing, while novel with me is not specifically claimed herein, as it is disclosed and claimed in my said prior application, Serial No. 618,815.

iVhile in accordance with the rovisions of the statutes I have illustrate and described the best form of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that certain features of my invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

1. A hollow metallic element provided with one or more openings and internally removable closing devices for said openings, which are too large in diameter to ass through any of said openings and a out which said hollow element is cast.

2. The method of forming a hollow metallic element provided with one or more hand hole openings and internally removable hand hole closing devices too large in diameter to pass through any of said openings, which consists in casting said element about a core of sand or the like in which said devices are imbedded.

Signed at New York City in the county of New. York and State of New York this 26th day of January A. D. 1923.

JOHN PRIMROSE. 

